On Nov. 26, the Biden administration announced a plan to require Medicare and Medicaid to cover weight loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy for people looking to treat issues of obesity. According to a White House Spokesperson, the plan would provide access to the drugs for over three million people across the country who use Medicare as well as four million people on Medicaid, as NBC News reports.
But while this news makes some who have seen dramatic weight loss results with the help of semaglutides want to do a happy dance, others are skeptical about the impact it would have on our economy and our overall health.
We wanted to hear what doctors and patients are saying. Here, they address what they believe to be the common misconceptions about semaglutides:
It’s a Quick Fix
According to Dr. Addy, a Texas-based weight loss doctor, “The ones that are successful on the medication are the people that put in the work,” she says. “They change their diet. They get enough fiber during the day. They’re walking 45 minutes a day. They’re strength training. Those are the ones that see dramatic results.”
There are Too Many Side Effects
By now, we’re used to those shiny, happy drug commercials ending with a long list of potential side effects that might make you rethink taking the medication in the first place, and semaglutides are no exception. But according to @DrWellRx, most side effects patients experience on these drugs, including nausea and constipation, are “mild, treatable and time-limited.” He adds that lean body mass loss, another potential side effect, is common in any kind of weight loss journey and can be minimized with protein supplement shakes and an exercise regimen.
Some research has even found that the benefits of the medication outweighs any potential side effects: As Quartz reports, a new study published in the scientific journal JAMA Network Open, found that some patients taking drugs like Wegovy and Mounjaro report drinking less alcohol while on the medication.
TikToker @blisswithbri agrees. In a post she explains that since she’s been on semaglutides, she’s not in the mood for her usual nightcap anymore – something that has helped move the scale in the right direction.
“I don’t go for that bottle of wine every night,” she says. “I don’t want it, and that has also like highly impacted my weight loss because I’m not having all of those sugars.”
You’re Taking Medication from Diabetics Who Need It
One of the biggest arguments against using semaglutides for weight loss is that those people are taking medication away from diabetics who need it.
But holistic obesity expert @Dr_JonesDC argues that depends on whether or not you are getting your drugs from a retail pharmacy, which offers one size fits all medications or a compounding pharmacy, which customizes the strength or dosage of a medication to meet a patient’s specific needs.
“If you are someone who is taking semaglutide for weight loss, if you are getting the actual diabetic medication, Ozempic or Mounjaro but it is being used off label, then technically speaking, you are taking away access from another diabetic who needs it,” he said.
Those who get their drugs from a compounding pharmacy, he says, are not taking access from diabetics, because their medication would not be covered by insurance for a diabetic anyway.
It’s Going to Cost Tax Payers Way Too Much
Some skeptics of the Biden plan are concerned about the impact that providing more access to these drugs will have on taxpayers. But CBS News’ Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook says the long-term benefits of a healthier population is worth the cost.
“These types of medications lower the risks of problems associated with obesity like heart attack, stroke and diabetes,” he said. “At first the price tag of these drugs would likely be more than what we would save from lowering the costs of treating these illnesses, but you can’t put a price tag on what it means to people to finally lose weight and be healthier.”
You’ll Gain All the Weight Back if You Stop Taking the Drug
You’ve probably heard some people say that taking semaglutides is a lifetime commitment and that cutting yourself off could lead to you immediately packing on all of the pounds again.
In an essay for Time Magazine, Dr. Yoni Freedhoff, Associate Professor of Family Medicine at the University of Ottawa and the medical director of the Bariatric Medical Institute argues that any medication loses its effectiveness if you stop taking it.
“If you have high blood pressure, and you start taking a medication that effectively treats your high blood pressure, you still have high blood pressure, and if you stop treatment, it’ll come back,” he wrote.
Nurse practitioner @medically.bl0nde adds that the truth is a lot more complicated. She argues that it’s important to separate obesity as a metabolic condition from having a BMI that classifies you as overweight or obese.
“The people who could lose the weight through lifestyle modification alone, if they continue with those modifications, they should not gain the weight back,” she said.
On the other hand, she says people who are metabolically obese or live with conditions such as PCOS, insulin resistance diabetes or thyroid problems may have a harder time maintaining weight loss once they stop taking their medications.